clinical questions on interview day

[fakin' the funk]

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What type of questions should interviewees be asking of current students, admissions people, and their interviewers regarding the clinical strengths of the school? I.e. how do we get a feel for strong depts. or if the school has a bent for one type of medicine or one type of research? Obviously there is the match list which provides a partial picture of the school's strengths.

I ask because at the 3 interviews I've had so far, I have asked such questions and gotten either no response, unrelated responses, or "all departments here are strong" which doesn't really answer the question either.

And then: how big a factor in choosing a school should the school's tendency to produce strong residency candidates in certain specialties be? I am trying to liken this to choosing an undergrad school: don't go to MIT for lit, don't go to a small liberal arts college for science.

 

[bridge01]

maybe you can ask questions to find out what level of involvement med students have w/patient care in the clinical years. i think some places you are just observing whereas other schools, students are responsible for patients, although it depends on many other factors too such as which hospital you are rotating in, etc.

 

[fakin' the funk]

How do we find out what specialty training, research program, or department a school has that is particularly strong? I have some ideas: USNews rankings of university hospital departments, perusing course catalogs, looking at research program websites, asking current students, asking faculty. Are there other ways, or should I ask this question in a different way?

 

[LauraMac]

the way you are doing it should be just fine. i don't see why you are not getting the answers you want. looking at where previous students have matched and seeing how much time is spent in each rotation could also be helpful. the schools i've gone to so far have been really good about telling me what they specialize in and what their strong points are.